The present invention relates to bathtubs, whirlpools, spas, clothes washing machines, and other plumbing devices where a large basin must be supplied with a large volume of water. More particularly, it relates to assemblies for achieving rapid “filling” of such basins.
When it is necessary to fill a large basin with water from a conventional plumbing supply, the filling time can be significant. For conventional bathtubs and whirlpools, the volume of water required for filling is so large that it can take ten minutes or more for a conventional bathtub or whirlpool to fill to a level that satisfies the user. This problem is exasperated in hospitals, and other places of temporary residence like hotels, in which several people need to take baths consecutively or simultaneously, with the assistance of limited staff.
Often people choose to take a shower instead of a bath largely because of the fill time required. For example, in the morning a person may not have the extra time before work to wait for the bath to fill. Even when one has time to wait for the tub to fill, it can be frustrating having to wait. This may lead people to begin their bath before the water has risen to the preferred level, which may cause discomfort until the fill is completed if the surrounding room is cool, as is common in the winter.
While the volume of water needed to fill a drum in a washing machine is considerably less than the volume needed to fill a conventional bathtub, during a typical wash cycle the drum must be filled and drained at least twice. As a result, the filling time of about two minutes per fill can significantly increase the overall time needed for a wash cycle. This is a particularly acute problem for Laundromats or other commercial washing facilities as this may increase the number of washing machines that they need to meet consumer requirements for capacity at given peak use times.
Moreover, even where washing machines are available for use, consumers want the wash cycle to be completed quickly, for example, to limit the amount of time spent waiting between load cycles at the Laundromat.
In any event, bathtub and whirlpool systems typically share a water heater that is also used to supply other plumbing fittings in the building (e.g., a shower). When one uses large quantities of heated water to fill a bathtub or the like, all the available fully heated water in the residence can be temporarily used up, which may be particularly of concern to those who want to take a shower using the same supply. This can create scheduling problems.
Yet another concern is that when such basins are being filled, water pressure in the rest of the building can be adversely affected. Further, when a very large basin, such as a whirlpool, is being filled, this can use up the fully heated water supply for about a half an hour.
There have been attempts to provide multiple water heaters for buildings that have high water use requirements, particularly when there is a large bathtub or whirlpool. While this helps reduce the hot water availability concern, it does little to address concerns about the filling speed of the tub, and may or may not address water pressure concerns depending upon what else is linked to the same hot water heater.
Also, many rural communities pump well water to an elevated water storage facility (e.g., a water tower) so as to provide a standby water supply (and reduce pressure fluctuations). However, that supply is to supply the entire water needs of a geographic area, and does not involve heated water. Further, a variety of industrial batch processing systems incorporate one or more pumps to facilitate flow.
In any event, a need exists for improved systems for rapidly filling large plumbing and washing machine basins with water, while reducing adverse effects on the other plumbing systems in the building.